Time is Running Out to Submit Your Design for New York’s LGBT Memorial

New York City is seeking submissions as we speak for an art installation to memorialize LGBT “victims of hate, intolerance, and violence,” with a nod towards New York’s part in the history of queer activism. The memorial will have its place in Hudson River Park.

“New York has a storied history of being at the forefront of the fight for equal rights and it is essential that we always honor the people who sought to achieve fairness for the LGBT community,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on October 20th in a prepared statement.

This memorial will be one of Cuomo’s own projects—he personally established the LGBT Memorial Commission after the June 12th Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. The Commission will be the ones to review and select a shortlist of designs, and Cuomo will select which one will go forward.

Cuomo’s commission is heartening—it features representatives from LGBT activist groups and LGBT health groups, CEOs of nonprofits for women and minorities, and the commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

Cuomo’s record on behalf of his LGBT constituents show that this memorial is more than an empty gesture. It was under his hand that New York passed its Marriage Equality Act in 2011, and in 2015, Cuomo signed into law regulations protecting transgender individuals in their jobs, their homes, and in business. He has also made a political commitment to making New York the first state to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, ban conversion therapy, and ensure equal rights to insurance and health care for trans individuals.

Whichever artist is chosen (and anyone from the state is welcome to submit) will have access to a budget of $800,000 to design, fabricate, install, and promote the memorial. Hopeful applicants have until November 21st to apply. A decision will be reached in December.